


Rules for Being a Good Friend

by Tiriel



Category: Miss Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-18
Updated: 2018-12-18
Packaged: 2019-09-21 20:46:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17050283
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tiriel/pseuds/Tiriel
Summary: After the first season, there are new rules.





	Rules for Being a Good Friend

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ronia](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ronia/gifts).



After the tears and hugs, which Sherlock only just tolerated, after the indignant silent treatment over the length of the faked-death deception that had lasted only until Inspector Reimon called on them for help with a case, things started to return to normal for Sherlock and Wato. At least, as normal as life ever could be in the home of a brilliant consulting detective. 

Kento had sorted things out legally, in that way that he had of making things work. Sherlock was free to live her life as she pleased. Wato was out, looking for another experimental job. Sherlock thought this would likely be the last one before she returned to working in medicine in some way. Mrs. Hatano was having lunch with one of her seemingly endless supply of annoying friends. This one’s husband had recently retired, so she had been a frequent visitor lately, trying to escape the “bulky trash.”1 Inspector Reimon had not yet asked for help with the new case that had been written up in the morning newspaper. Sherlock took the opportunity to compose another list for Wato.

> Addendum to the rules of the house:
> 
> • No getting brainwashed.  
>  • All potential boyfriends must meet with my approval.  
>  • No guns.  
>  • Do not go back to Syria or any other war zone.  
>  • All personal connections must meet with my approval.  
>  • No personal danger.  
>  • All professional connections must meet with my approval.  
> 

She considered carefully, then decided the new list seemed sufficiently comprehensive, for now, anyway. After chewing on her pen for an additional moment, she added an asterisk to “No guns” and “No personal danger,” then added a note: 

_*Except as required by a case/at my discretion._

Satisfied with the added caveat, Sherlock placed the list in Wato's room and settled in to do some reading. Her quiet time didn’t last long. Inspector Reimon did indeed need help with his case. Sergeant Shibata came to pick up Sherlock at home, and she sent a text to Wato with the address. “Meet me there immediately. It will be much more fun than looking for a job.”

A few hours later, the case was solved. Inspector Reimon had been unable to discover the victim's identity. There was no wallet and the fingerprints were not on file. But when Sherlock tasted the dead man’s curry (despite Wato's squeals of disgust), she knew instantly that it was from a shop a couple of kilometers away from Shinjuku Station, and from there, with the help of CCTV footage, it was easy to retrace the dead man’s steps to his point of origin. Sherlock had an encyclopedic knowledge of the curry rice shops in 21 out of Tokyo’s 23 wards, and was working on indexing the remaining two. 

At the dead man’s apartment, they found evidence that he had been fencing stolen jewelry for a criminal gang. He must have been a fairly good fence, since he had never been arrested, but it had ended badly for him. It was a fairly straightforward resolution to the case from there, the kind of thing that even Sergeant Shibata could handle on his own. 

Sherlock had been hoping for something more interesting, like the time Kento sent her on the trail of some stolen submarine plans. Or perhaps there would be something even more unconventional, like a giant gemstone swallowed by a prize tuna, or a family that believed their restaurant was haunted by a restless ghost. The death of a fence at the hands of a thief was hardly worth the trip. But at least the dead man had had decent taste in curry.

Even though Wato swore she had no appetite after watching the curry-tasting at the crime scene, they stopped for udon on their way home. By the time they got back, it was late. They said goodnight to Mrs. Hatano, Wato went to bed, and Sherlock sat down to finish her reading from earlier. She half-expected Wato to come back out, complaining about the new list of rules, but she didn’t. Sherlock was still in her chair, writing a scathing email to the author of a new article on techniques for analyzing explosives residue when Wato came out of her room the next morning. 

Wato started the coffee and held out an envelope to Sherlock. “I received your list,” she said. “I have one for you as well.” When there was no response, she continued. “You said that I was your first friend. I think that you do not know the rules for how to be a good friend.”

Sherlock shook her head and waved one hand in the air dismissively. “I think I can deduce what they might be. Don’t forget to take my shoes off when I enter a home or put them back on when I leave. Don’t take food off of your plate. Don’t laugh at other people’s misfortunes. Don’t be critical. Don’t play the cello after you go to bed. Don’t be rude. Don’t complain about your clothes. Buy my own cilantro. Don’t let villains give you electric shocks. Refer to you by your name. Don’t make a scene. Ask permission before placing a GPS transmitter on you. Don’t make problems for other people. Don’t treat you like a maid. Make my own coffee. Don’t interrupt you when you’re on a date. Be kinder to Mrs. Hatano. Don't fake my death. Listen when you talk to me. Don’t ask impolite questions. Don’t deny being your friend.”

Wato just smiled.

“What, did I miss one?” Sherlock twirled in her chair.

“Those are all very good ideas, Sherlock, and you may do them if you like, but they are not the rules on my list.”

Sherlock frowned and snatched the envelope out of Wato's hand. “Let me see that!” She tore it open and pulled out the single sheet of paper inside.

Down the side it read:

_Rules for being a good friend:_

The rest of the page was blank. Sherlock flipped it over, only to discover that the other side was also blank. She furrowed her brow. “There are no rules for being a good friend?”

Wato shook her head and smiled. “You already are.”

 

-end-

 

1\. Rough translation of a term ( _sodai gomi_ ) sometimes used to refer to husbands who have retired from their jobs. The idea is that after decades of being out of the house most of the time to work the long hours expected of a salaryman, upon retirement the husband is suddenly in the way around the house all the time while the wife tries to continue her usual life. As I understand it, sometimes this phrase is meant jokingly, and sometimes it’s less so.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to my special editor/inspiration. Any remaining errors are mine. It's been a long time since I visited Japan.


End file.
